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Which exam should i take OCAJ 7 or OCAJ 8?

 
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I am currently Java and i need Java certification for getting job. Which certification should i take ?? Java 7 or Java 8?

I am planning to give exam of OCA. Which books are best for Java 8. Although i am considering book for Java 7 by Bert Bates and Kathy Sierra, another is by Mala Gupta.

Please guide me.
 
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While you are waiting for response from other, you might want to see this: http://enthuware.com/index.php/component/content/article/117
 
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Go with Java 7 as they are established books available in market which will you prepare better
 
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Your question discussed in this topic. Maybe you find answer for your question
 
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Hi Linkon Manwani,

First of all, a warm welcome to CodeRanch!

Linkon Manwani wrote:I am currently Java and i need Java certification for getting job as i am fresher. Which certification should i take ?? Java 7 or Java 8?


It all depends on your current situation, your future plans and what's important to you. This thread compares the 3 different paths to become OCPJP certified.

If you plan to just become OCAJP certified, there's no reason why you should not take the most recent one (OCAJP 8). For both OCAJP 7 and OCAJP 8 you'll have study guides and mock exams available for these certifications, the perfect combo to pass a certification exam.

Linkon Manwani wrote:I am planning to give exam of OCA. Which books are best for Java 8. Although i am considering book for Java 7 by Bert Bates and Kathy Sierra, another is by Mala Gupta.


In this thread you'll find all available resources for OCAJP 7 and OCAJP 8.

Hope it helps!
Kind regards,
Roel
 
Linkon Manwani
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Thank you sir for replying. You reply helped me a lot.
 
Linkon Manwani
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Abhay Agarwal wrote:Go with Java 7 as they are established books available in market which will you prepare better



Hello Sir, as i see OCA 8 book is available by Sybex although not by K&B, and enthuware also released practice test.
Doesn't it look like i am paying for an outdated exam?
 
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Linkon,
I'm the author of the Sybex study guide. Many people have passed the OCA 8 by reading it. (I've gotten emails from some, which is a nice feeling - to know you helped them).

I think your choice depends on whether you want to take the OCP afterwards. If you are just taking the OCA or plan to take the OCP in 2016, I think you should go for the latest exam. If you plan to take the OCP this year, I think you should take the OCA 7.

The OCP 8 is in beta right now. It will come out late this year. Then some more time needs to pass before study guides and exam simulators are out. Oracle has it setup that you can take the OCA 7/OCP 7 or OCA 8/OCP 8. But not the OCA 8/OCA 7. (as of right now; it is possible they will change their minds). Which means your choice of OCA exam dictates the OCP exam you take.

I'm working on a OCP 8 book right now. If you have the flexibility, I think the OCP 8 is a better exam. Oracle put a bunch of new topics on the OCP 7 including some topics that *nobody* ever uses (such as some of the NIO topics). Then they had a change of heart and reduced the scope of those new topics in addition to adding functional programming with the OCP 8.
 
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Jeanne Boyarsky wrote:
I think your choice depends on whether you want to take the OCP afterwards. If you are just taking the OCA or plan to take the OCP in 2016, I think you should go for the latest exam. If you plan to take the OCP this year, I think you should take the OCA 7.

The OCP 8 is in beta right now. It will come out late this year. Then some more time needs to pass before study guides and exam simulators are out. Oracle has it setup that you can take the OCA 7/OCP 7 or OCA 8/OCP 8. But not the OCA 8/OCA 7. (as of right now; it is possible they will change their minds). Which means your choice of OCA exam dictates the OCP exam you take.

I'm working on a OCP 8 book right now. If you have the flexibility, I think the OCP 8 is a better exam. Oracle put a bunch of new topics on the OCP 7 including some topics that *nobody* ever uses (such as some of the NIO topics). Then they had a change of heart and reduced the scope of those new topics in addition to adding functional programming with the OCP 8.



Hello Ma'am,
Thanks for replying. Yes, i will give OCP exam but only when i will be fully prepared, and it may take 2 months or it may take 6 month as i am not sure how much practice i have to do for OCP. For sure i will start preparing for OCP after OCA Exam. Most probably i will give exam later this year around October/November.

What advice you want to give about my OCA exam and how much i have to practice for that exam like 4-5 hours daily as i am currently preparing only for OCA exam.

And when we will expect OCP 8 book will be released in International market.
 
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Linkon Manwani wrote:What advice you want to give about my OCA exam and how much i have to practice for that exam like 4-5 hours daily as i am currently preparing only for OCA exam.


It really depends on the person so I don't want to speculate about individual preparation time. Bert Bates gives good advice on this study at least 15 minutes per day no matter what. On most days, you'll study much longer. But it will keep the momentum going even when you can't

Linkon Manwani wrote:And when we will expect OCP 8 book will be released in International market.


US publication is currently predicted for December. For our OCA book, it only took a month longer for the book to ship internationally. I realize that varies by country so I like to cite US publication dates. People are going to know more about "delays" to their specific country than I am.
 
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Jeanne Boyarsky wrote:US publication is currently predicted for December.



Thanks a lot
 
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Linkon Manwani wrote:Doesn't it look like i am paying for an outdated exam?


No, Java 7 is not an outdated exam. You could even take OCPJP5 or OCPJP6 if you want to So OCAJP7 is certainly not outdated. And many companies will still have applications written in Java 5 and/or 6 which require maintenance. New Java applications will be written in Java 7 and/or Java 8. At the company I currently work, we have new applications in Java 7 and Java 8.

But your choice depends on a bunch of personal preferences and your future certification plans:
  • do you plan only to become OCA certified? or do you plan to take OCP certification as well? (from one of your posts, I know you'll give OCP exam when fully prepared)
  • when do you want to take OCP exam? within 3 months? at the end of this year? beginning of next year?
  • do you want to use a study guide and mock exam software in your preparation? or do you want to gather all study materials yourself (e.g. using Oracle's Java tutorials as a starting point)
  • is money an important factor for you? because with OCA+OCP (7 or 8) you need to pay 2 exam fees, with OCPJP6 you need only to pay just 1 exam fee
  • do you want a java certification as soon as possible (to increase your chances while job hunting)?


  • Based on your answers to the previous questions, you can take OCPJP6, OCA7+OCP7 or OCA8+OCP8. In this thread you'll find a comparison as well between the 3 aforementioned paths to become OCP certified (for one of the ranchers money was a big issue, so he decided to go with OCPJP6). As Jeanne already mentioned, you currently can't combine different version certifications.

    Hope it helps!
    Kind regards,
    Roel
     
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    Roel De Nijs wrote:
    No, Java 7 is not an outdated exam. You could even take OCPJP5 or OCPJP6 if you want to So OCAJP7 is certainly not outdated. And many companies will still have applications written in Java 5 and/or 6 which require maintenance. New Java applications will be written in Java 7 and/or Java 8. At the company I currently work, we have new applications in Java 7 and Java 8.



    Thanks for the information.

    Roel De Nijs wrote:
    But your choice depends on a bunch of personal preferences and your future certification plans:

  • do you plan only to become OCA certified? or do you plan to take OCP certification as well? (from one of your posts, I know you'll give OCP exam when fully prepared)
  • when do you want to take OCP exam? within 3 months? at the end of this year? beginning of next year?
  • do you want to use a study guide and mock exam software in your preparation? or do you want to gather all study materials yourself (e.g. using Oracle's Java tutorials as a starting point)
  • is money an important factor for you? because with OCA+OCP (7 or 8) you need to pay 2 exam fees, with OCPJP6 you need only to pay just 1 exam fee
  • do you want a java certification as soon as possible (to increase your chances while job hunting)?


  • Hope it helps!
    Kind regards,
    Roel



    Yes, your reply helped me a lot.

    For me in my currency, it is not much difference in price between OCPJP6 and OCA8+OCP8

    I want some guidance how can i prepare for OCA 8, means how should i divide time to different topics and where i can practice for the java, not just for OCA exam, but also to be good in coding as i started learning Java recently.

    [I started with Head First Java and currently i just started reading The Complete reference (JDK 8) by Herbert Schildt. I will not able to buy Tutorials by Oracle as they are not in my budget.]
     
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    Linkon Manwani wrote:For me in my currency, it is not much difference in price between OCPJP6 and OCA8+OCP8


    Please note that currently the OCP8 exam is in beta which means you can take the exam very cheaply (50 USD). Once the production version of the exam is released, you'll probably have to pay the same price as the OCA8 exam.

    Linkon Manwani wrote:I want some guidance how can i prepare for OCA 8, means how should i divide time to different topics and where i can practice for the java, not just for OCA exam, but also to be good in coding as i started learning Java recently.


    If you started learning Java you'll probably need to read (and practice) using a book on Java (rather than a certification study guide). Many alternatives are available: Head First Java, Thinking in Java, Core Java, Deitel & Deitel, and so on.
     
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    Thanks for the Information
     
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    Linkon Manwani wrote: I will not able to buy Tutorials by Oracle as they are not in my budget.


    Are you referring to these tutorials? Oracle prints out the tutorials and publishes as a book. But the information is available from them online for free.
     
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    There are lots and lots of links to other threads in this thread. One that I remember pertaining to 8, written by Paul, above, who is involved in test prep materials, is that 8 is more than just 7 with the new features thrown in. The personality of the test is different and I think probably harder. Paul mentioned needing knowledge of edge cases in 8, which I think you need with 7 too (!) but point is 8 might be a harder test. These are not trivial tests. Earlier versions might have been.

    Also...once you decide, I wouldn't go near a book or test prep except for that version, because there are enough differences between 7 and 8 to cause you to fail. I think there are more materials out there for 7.

     
    Linkon Manwani
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    Jeanne Boyarsky wrote:Are you referring to these tutorials? Oracle prints out the tutorials and publishes as a book. But the information is available from them online for free.



    Sorry, i mentioned it wrong it shouldn't be tutorials. It's Java SE8 Fundamentals classroom program by Oracle which is under the tab of Exam Preparation (optional).
     
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    Guillermo Ishi wrote:One that I remember pertaining to 8, written by Paul, above, who is involved in test prep materials, is that 8 is more than just 7 with the new features thrown in. The personality of the test is different and I think probably harder. Paul mentioned needing knowledge of edge cases in 8, which I think you need with 7 too (!) but point is 8 might be a harder test. These are not trivial tests. Earlier versions might have been.


    You'll probably refer to this post. It's now 4 months later than that post and no other candidates confirmed OCA8 being harder than OCA7. One obvious reason: probably not many people take both OCA exams
     
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    Linkon Manwani wrote:Hello Ma'am,
    Thanks for replying. Yes, i will give OCP exam but only when i will be fully prepared, and it may take 2 months or it may take 6 month as i am not sure how much practice i have to do for OCP. For sure i will start preparing for OCP after OCA Exam. Most probably i will give exam later this year around October/November.

    What advice you want to give about my OCA exam and how much i have to practice for that exam like 4-5 hours daily as i am currently preparing only for OCA exam.

    And when we will expect OCP 8 book will be released in International market.



    Hey
    Its Nov, are you done with exam? I am supposed to in January. Just little curious to know about your experience.
    Please share.
    Thanks!
     
    Roel De Nijs
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    Dipan Chokshi wrote:Its Nov, are you done with exam? I am supposed to in January. Just little curious to know about your experience.


    Until this moment, this rancher didn't create a topic in the Certification Results forum. So probably still preparing for the exam. But if you are curious to know about experiences, have a look at the OcajpWallOfFame. Plenty of ranchers added their name together with a link to a topic describing their experiences about their preparation and the actual exam (both for OCA7 and OCA8 exams).
     
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    Dipan Chokshi wrote:

    Hey
    Its Nov, are you done with exam? I am supposed to in January. Just little curious to know about your experience.
    Please share.
    Thanks!



    Yes i am done with the exam. Experience is quite good. Tips for exam:
    Practice a lot of questions within time limit as it will help in increasing the speed and
    I took Enthuware Java 8 Java Certification Questions and Mock Exams which are really good and helped me to get 83% in exam.

    Thanks
     
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    Linkon Manwani wrote:I took Enthuware Java 8 Java Certification Questions and Mock Exams which are really good and helped me to get 83% in exam.


    Congratulations, champion!

    Don't forget to add your name to the OcajpWallOfFame.
     
    Linkon Manwani
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    Roel De Nijs wrote:

    Linkon Manwani wrote:I took Enthuware Java 8 Java Certification Questions and Mock Exams which are really good and helped me to get 83% in exam.


    Congratulations, champion!


    Thanks a lot Sir
     
    Dipan Chokshi
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    Linkon Manwani wrote:

    Dipan Chokshi wrote:

    Hey
    Its Nov, are you done with exam? I am supposed to in January. Just little curious to know about your experience.
    Please share.
    Thanks!



    Yes i am done with the exam. Experience is quite good. Tips for exam:
    Practice a lot of questions within time limit as it will help in increasing the speed and
    I took Enthuware Java 8 Java Certification Questions and Mock Exams which are really good and helped me to get 83% in exam.

    Thanks



    Congratulation and thanks for sharing your experience.
     
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